Chunk Women's DREAM Heel with Suede Low PAIRS Ankle Sandals Strap Blue Low Pump Our member municipality program offers learning exchanges on national and international levels. Through your membership, you'll have access to government leaders across the nation who are creating immigrant-friendly, welcoming communities. We invite you to share ideas and goals and help us make our country a more prosperous and welcoming place.

Who Supports Welcoming Communities?

Our growing network benefits from broad community support from a range of mainstream partners. Represented among the organizations that are collaborating with Welcoming Cities and Counties at the local level are faith, civic and corporate partners, as well as broad bi-partisan support. These include:

Numerous corporate partners and economic development agencies, as well as local financial institutions, Main Street entrepreneurs, and larger employers.

Civic partners, ranging from local YMCAs to universities and educational partners.

Public sector partners, including not only mayors, county executives, governors, and other local and state elected officials, but police chiefs, school board members, and many others, across the political spectrum.

Local philanthropic partners, from the United Way to community foundations.

Blue with Sandals Chunk Low DREAM Pump Low Women's Suede Ankle Strap PAIRS Heel Together, this broad range of welcoming communities and ambassadors are building prosperous futures and stronger communities. We see this reflected in simple things, like more parents participating in PTAs and more entrepreneurs opening businesses on Main Street.

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Welcoming Proclamations and Resolutions

Whether a community wishes to issue a proclamation or resolution as a symbolic act or more formally, to become a recognized Welcoming City or County and Member, we ask that you please reach out to Welcoming America before doing so, so that we can best coordinate with you around proactive communications, as well as to avoid potential pitfalls that can come with public declarations. Read more guidance and see examples.

What is the difference between Welcoming Cities and "Sanctuary cities"?

A Welcoming City or County is one that joins the Welcoming America network and works across multiple sectors, such as government, business, and non-profit, to create inclusive policies and practices such as making it easier for entrepreneurs to start a business or having government documents available in multiple languages. Welcoming Cities are guided by the principles of inclusion and creating communities that prosper because everyone feels welcome, including immigrants and refugees.

There is no legal definition for a "Sanctuary city". Nevertheless, a commonality among cities that have adopted sanctuary-type policies is a desire to resist changes in the law that would require local criminal law enforcement agencies to do the federal government’s job of enforcing immigration laws. Many do this by preventing local officials from asking people about their immigration status. Other cities refuse to use local resources to detain immigrants. The main purpose for these types of policies is to comply with constitutional requirements and to protect public safety by maintaining positive relationships between local law enforcement and immigrant communities.